Interspecific competition is not a major organizing force in many insect communities

Abstract

Part of the current dogma in ecology is that competition between species for limited resources is not only common but also a major organizing force in many communities1,2 largely because studies on vertebrates, particularly birds, have played a major role in creating the traditional framework of niche theory and resource partitioning3–9. Other workers, particularly those studying insect communities, have suggested that significant interspecific competition is too rare and sporadic to be of major significance and have placed more emphasis on autecological processes10–13. Efforts to resolve the controversy have concentrated on the question of whether or not competition is common in nature1. Here we show that even where competition can be demonstrated, it need not have a major role in community organization.